Ward 10 Coun. Al Maghnieh, disgraced in a library spending scandal in 2012, is being allowed back in from the political cold city council voted Monday to reinstate him to some of the committees from which he was banished more than a year ago.

When I was a kid growing up in South Windsor, my Dad had an amazing workshop in our basement. He had a radial arm saw that made me jump every time he turned it on (and made the lights dim momentarily too) and all sorts of tools and jars full of screws and bolts and hooks and all sorts of crazy things.

Building a new City Hall, converting the city’s street lights to energy-efficient LED and building a bike loop around the entire city were among the promises contained in Mayor Eddie Francis’s state of the city report Wednesday.

The Jesus flag is not welcome at city hall. Councillors agreed Monday night with a report from city administration to deny a request to fly a flag in support of the annual March for Jesus scheduled for Aug. 22.